Officials for the socially conservative Shop, Distributive and Allied ­Employees Association were asked to compile dossiers on members’ ­political views, religious affiliations and marital status for the union’s chiefs, an inquiry heard.

Chris Ketter
, who ran the ­Queensland division of the Shop, ­Distributive and Allied Employees Association until becoming a senator on July 1, said the practice was necessary to keep anyone with extreme views from becoming a union organiser.

Appearing at the Royal Commission on Trade Union Governance and ­Corruption on Monday, Senator Ketter responded to allegations that he sacked a long-serving organiser because he was an internal rival for the position of secretary-treasurer.

Alan Swetman
told the commission that on May 22, 2013, two days before nominations closed, Senator Ketter came to his Brisbane home and confiscated his work car.

Later that day Mr Swetman received a letter via courier saying he was ­suspended from all union duties. He was sacked a day later.

“During my time at the SDA, this was the first time that anyone had stood against Mr Ketter in an election," Mr Swetman said in a witness statement.

“I was not a member of the Australian Labour Party and I was not Catholic which made me an outsider in the SDA," he wrote.

Senator Ketter accused Mr Swetman of using a telephone owned by the union for non-work purposes. He had a poor track record in recruiting new members. These were “very serious issues that went to his integrity as an organiser", Senator Ketter said.

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But counsel assisting the royal commission,
Jeremy Stoljar
, questioned his evidence.

“You were determined to get rid of him before the nominations closed. That’s right, isn’t it," he asked Senator Ketter.

“Absolutely not," he replied.

“That’s your sworn evidence to this commission, that it was just a coincidence that this occurred two days before the close of nominations?"

“That is a coincidence," Senator ­Ketter said.

Earlier, another former organiser, Rosa Perry, told the commission she was required to attend meetings during which issues such as same-sex ­marriage, abortion, homosexuality and stem cell research were discussed.

She said the meetings were organised by Rocco Mimmo, the founder and chairman of the Ambrose Centre for Religious Liberty.

Ms Perry said she was asked to keep a file on shop stewards.

“I believe there shouldn’t be any discrimination regardless of what political party and there were members out there who would have loved to have been delegates but couldn’t because of their sexual orientation," she said.

The SDA is the dominant right-wing union in Australia and tries to influence Labor social policy. The royal commission is investigating so-called union slush and fighting funds.

Ms Perry and Mr Swetman have been trying to recover money they paid into a fighting fund during their time as union employees.

The commission heard that as many as 40 union officials have been paying $48 a month into the fund for two decades or more, and current balance is $408,000. This was to fend off any challengers to the incumbent team.

Although Mr Swetman paid into the fund over his 18 years with the union, money from the account was used to mount a court case challenging his eligibility to run for the position of secretary. He was deemed an “honourary" union member and therefore ineligible.